Harry hummed to himself as he worked through his next list of spells. He needed to finish up his charms and transfiguration studies before the meeting he had this afternoon with the Tonks. The will reading was next week, and he still wasn’t sure how he wanted to deal with it. There were just too many ways things could go wrong, too many variables to watch, and too many unknowns.

He’d arranged to check in with Snape next week when they set the final wards on the property. Harry hoped to get the man to check his Occlumency shields while he was at it. If he managed to crack his shields, then they wouldn’t stand up to Dumbledore.

He just had too much to do; there was a good chance the Order would pick him up on his birthday whether or not he wanted them to, even with Grimmauld Place out of their hands. They might not take the risk of placing him in a more dangerous situation, but it was still possible.

He’d never received any warning when he was going to be removed from the Dursleys in years past, after all, why would you ask a weapon where it wants to be? He was sure Dumbledore would come up with some vague “It’s for your own good.” speech if he ever bothered to ask, Which meant that he constantly had to keep his belongings packed and ready to move after years of never truly having a home he was looking forward to having somewhere to come back to next summer.

In the last few weeks, he’d attended several small meetings and social functions as Lord Thorburn, the young Lord who was stepping forward into his deceased grandfather’s shoes and taking over the family holdings. The books on culture and wizarding etiquette were helping enormously as he slowly made his way into the social settings. The wizarding world as a whole put too much stock in how a person dressed, considering the number of times he was chided gently for wearing an old cut to his clothes. He’d passed it off as a habit since he was home-schooled and honoring his family in some small way since the people commenting tended to have the more outlandish colors and materials.

So far, he’d managed to lease several of the smaller properties sitting empty while the Abbotts and Smites were interested in using the warehouses and docks once the repairs were complete. The docks couldn’t open until he legally took his seat in the Wizengamot next year, so they had a while to deal with the contracts and approvals he would need. There were a handful of properties where it would cost more than they were worth to repair that were being put up for sale, but overall, he was hoping to keep most of the properties and lease or rent them out instead.

The goblins were happy with his progress in increasing his investments. House Thorburn quietly offered a contract to Neville to assist in the sales of his stores of potion ingredients. While House Longbottom was looking to get into producing plant-based potion ingredients, at one time, House Potter had been the leading supplier of animal-based ingredients. His storerooms were filled with preserved animal hides, tendons, bales of hair, and every other part imaginable. He hoped to partner with House Longbottom to sell their ingredients to various schools, apothecaries, and hospitals.

Harry was fairly certain that he could trust Neville and Luna and hoped to invite them to a private meeting soon to see where their loyalties lay now that the goblins said that they were purged of their loyalty bindings and spells. Neville was the most affected; he’d had his magic and mind bound as harshly as Harry. He hoped to see the young Lord Longbottom’s confidence increase now that he was free of their influence. He’d already set aside two silver bracelets to send to both of them that would detect any potions in their meals at Hogwarts.

It was the Weasleys that he couldn’t be sure of. Were all the children aware of the thefts and potions, or were they just being led along blindly by Dumbledore and their parents? Did Arthur Weasley and his wife even realize they were letting themselves be controlled, or was Dumbledore controlling them through potions and spells as well?

Percy was the only Weasley who’d openly declared that Dumbledore was a losing bet, but he’d thrown his lot in with the Wizarding Government, which wasn’t much better in Harry’s eyes. The wizarding population was naive at best and downright idiotic in their willingness to be swayed by the media. The government was corrupt and useless, given how easily most of the wealthy death eaters were able to bribe their way out of any kind of sentence.

A single corrupt official tried to expel Harry and or send him to prison simply because he supported an unpopular position on the treatment of magical beings and animals. Umbridge sent dementors to his home to try and have him killed or proclaimed a lunatic and put in prison. Then, once she was in Hogwarts, she’d done everything she could to make him lash out in public so that she could put him in his place. He’d added the abuse he’d suffered at her hand to the memories kept for the trials at Gringotts, but it was doubtful she’d even be punished since none of the other students she’d used the blood quill on come forward.

The Weasley twins seemed determined to buck tradition and their family’s control, but they still toed the line when Dumbledore called. Was it out of a need to protect their family and friends or more manipulation? He sent them a letter asking them to go to Gringotts to meet with Gold Kris but had yet to hear anything back.

Charlie and Bill ran as far as possible from traditional England and their families once they were of age. Did they know what was going on? Gold Kris said that their human employees were all routinely tested for controlling potions and spells but that he would ensure that Bill Weasley was retested. If they did know of Dumbledore’s manipulations, why didn’t they try to help their family remove themselves from his influence? It was all making Harry’s head hurt.

******

“Hello, we’re here to arrange a meeting with Account Manager Gold Kris,” Fred said to the front desk staff once they reached the bank counter, the lobby was busy, and many of the people leaving the bank looked upset.

George watched the milling groups with an identical frown. They weren’t sure what was going on with Harry, insisting they go meet with a goblin. As far as they knew, Harry was still at the Dursleys grieving for his godfather. They’d been surprised to receive the note from a general post owl when that Sunday at dinner, Ron had done nothing but complain about how ungrateful Harry was being, not even bothering to reply to his letters.

“Please follow Hardwick; Gold Kris will see you now.” The teller said as another goblin came to replace him.

“Thank you,” Fred said with a nod, tugging George along behind him by the cuff of his robe, ignoring the huff it earned him, he wanted his brother close.

“How can I help you?” the goblin asked as they approached his desk, the door closing solidly behind them.

“Our business partner, Mister Potter, wanted us to meet with you,” Fred said, handing over the letter that Harry sent them.

“Yes, Mister Potter availed himself of a unique service we are currently offering and wished to see if you would like to have the same service applied to you and your accounts.”

“What is this service exactly?” George asked as they each took a seat.

“Gringotts is offering a one-time chance for your vaults, selves, and possessions to be scanned for tampering. All spelled items will be identified, and it will be up to the vault owner to decide if they wish the bank to remove the spells on each item or simply leave them as is. Each vault owner will be scanned for spells and potions that could be harmful to the human, and complete removal and healing of any damage is included in the cost of the service.”

“And harmful spells and potions have been found?” Fred asked, slowly already connecting the dots. If Harry was urging them to be scanned, then something bad had already been found, possibly on him, he glanced at George with wide eyes, watching as he made the same decision.

“We’ve purged over five hundred cursed items from the vaults and found a growing number of vault owners affected by harmful magic. If your business partner is urging that you take this service, then I would listen to him.”

“What does this service cost?”

“One galleon,” The goblin said, simply watching the twins as they glanced at each other, “Are you willing to allow yourselves to be scanned?”

“Yes." they said in unison before Fred reached out to stop the goblin when he came around the desk, “Can you tell us, is Harry okay?”

“Mister Potter is recovering.” Gold Kris said stiffly, “I can answer the rest of your questions once you have been scanned and any spells dealt with.”

“Of course, thank you,” George said, tugging his brother back to stand next to him.

Hours later, they sat exhausted and shocked, reviewing the list of spells and potions that had been administered to them over the years. They would both be magically purged once the room was set up this afternoon, and they each had a box of purging potions to take when they got home. They watched Gold Kris settle back behind his desk in a daze.

“Are you willing to continue, or do you wish to wait until you’ve finished the purging potions?”

“Let’s get it over with.” George said with a sigh, “I take it Harry’s list was worse?”

“Quite.” Gold Kris said, pulling out several scrolls. “There is evidence that your family has been receiving money from Mister Potter’s vaults since his first year at Hogwarts.”

“Dumbledore’s doing?” Fred asked, slumping against his brother.

“It appears so. Your mother was given a copy of his vault key at some point and simply kept the key. She has made numerous withdrawals and transfers. Most appear to be as funding for yourself and your siblings’ school fees and your equipment however, in the last year, the withdrawals have grown with no reason for the money removed.”

“Only mother?” Fred pressed.

“Your father has never made a withdrawal, but that doesn’t mean he is not aware of them. The bank was aware of the transfers but legally could do nothing until Mister Potter claimed his House rings.”

“And Bill? Is he aware?”

“We have asked that your brother be tested as well, but he has not yet been told why.”

“How much do we owe for our years at Hogwarts?” George asked.

“The full amount will be paid by Dumbledore and your parents once Mister Potter claims his seats.”

“We still can pay back our school fees. We owe Harry that much just for helping us get our shop going.” Fred agreed, nodding to his brother.

“He got us free of everything Dumbledore and our family put us under. We owe him.” George said with a frown, his mind going over the list of potions in their system, some too new to have only been given while they were at Hogwarts; that meant at least some of their family was knowingly dosing them with potions meant to bind their magic and stunt their minds.

“Mister Potter has several properties that he is offering to those who want to wait out the war in safety. His only concession is that those that take his offer continue to produce some kind of product or continue their education.”

“Harry’s always been one to try and help everyone. The shop’s not doing that great with the latest attacks. We could always go back to mail order.” Fred said with a shrug, he didn’t like running, but if their own family was drugging them, where would they be safe?

“Do we have to make a decision now?” George asked, frowning as he watched his exhausted brother slump further into his chair.

“No, once you have vowed on your magic not to reveal what was spoken of in this meeting, you may leave. The healers at the door will show you to the ritual chamber for the magical purge. I would have you send any mail you wish Mister Potter to receive to my office. I have a more secure method of reaching him.”

“Of course, thank you for everything,” George said, standing and pulling out his wand to make the vow. He waited until Fred had done the same, and they chanted the short vow in unison. With a final nod, they shuffled out into the hall, following the healers to the ritual hall. An hour later, they were both purged of magical influence and recovering in the goblin healer’s hall.

“Alright, Fred?” George asked softly when he managed to peel his limp limbs from the too-soft mattress.

“Think this is even worse than the wizard flu we caught that one time,” Fred muttered, pulling the pillow over his head.

“Add in the purging potions, and the rest of the week is going to be horrid.” George pointed out, starting to get dressed.

“Do you think they would let us stay the night?” Fred asked sleepily, even as he started to stretch and force himself up.

“We still need to sort out the apartment and shop. What do you want to bet half our stuff is spelled?” George asked with a snort, tossing his brother his clothes.’

“Every sweater we ever got for Christmas and all the homemade treats are going in the fire,” Fred muttered, jerking on his boots with a frown.

“What are we going to do about Ron and Ginny? She’s been pouting about Harry not coming to visit all summer and sending flirty letters to four different boys at school, while Ron seems convinced that he’s going to be Quidditch Captain this year. How much of that is potions, do you think?” George asked, frowning as Fred glanced up from where he was fussing at his robes.

“Say that again,” Fred asked, his voice sounding stressed.

“Say what? That Ron’s a berk, and Ginny’s about to win the award for Hogwarts’ whore if she doesn’t learn to rein it in?” George asked, making the bed with a swish of his wand out of habit more than need.

“Your lips didn’t move,” Fred said slowly, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” George said silently, watching as Fred’s eyes got bigger, and they both started to grin.

“Twin bond?” George asked as Fred swept him up into a hard hug.

“Probably, what do you want to bet it was blocked?” Fred asked reluctantly, releasing his twin but keeping a hand on his back.

“No bet,” George said sourly with a snort as they gathered up their potions and thanked the healers verbally before heading for the nearest floo, silently plotting they needed to get their affairs in order.

******

Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphodora Tonks took the portkey, a small gold band Gold Kris gave them late the next evening; they were dropped, blinking in the bright light of the room they landed in. It was clear they were in a wealthy household when a house elf popped in and gave them a bow before popping back out to inform the master of the house that they had arrived.

“Why does this place feel familiar?” Andromeda asked absently, glancing around at the potted plants and windows that lined the soft gold-colored walls.

“This used to be a Black property, Madam Tonks,” Harry said with a grin, striding through the door and waiting a few steps away. “Thank you for coming.”

“Blimey, Harry! If I’d known you’d grow into such a looker, I’d have tried for you last year.” Nymphodora said with a wicked grin, ignoring the glare her mother gave her.

“Manners, Nymphodora.”

“It’s fine, Madam Tonks. Nymphodora and I’ve already met; I don’t expect any of you to stick to the traditional etiquette.” Harry said with a strained smile as the younger woman glared daggers at him for using her first name, “If you like, I have tea set up in the library?”

“Please, call me Andromeda. Some tea would be lovely," she said, glaring her daughter into submission as Harry showed them to the library.

Once they were seated and everyone served, Harry started explaining exactly how much had been left out of the files. Ted listened in silence, watching as his wife and daughter grew steadily angrier with each revelation. He interrupted when they paused to refill everyone’s cup.

“Harry, it’s clear that you’re trying to prepare yourself for every eventuality. I can understand why you included Andromeda and Dora since they have ties to the government, but why was I invited?”

“No one is safe right now, sir.” Harry said, wincing, “There is a chance you will be targeted by either Dumbledore or Voldemort if word gets out of your family’s involvement. That’s actually why I invited you here. This is a former Black property in France that I’d like to give you.”

“Harry, we can’t accept that!” Andromeda snapped, blinking in shock, “You can’t just give us a house.”

“Even if it keeps you and your family safe? I know you have a business to run, but you can portkey or floo to and from work. The wards here are the best that can be provided. Only those of Black blood can use the floo without accompaniment, and the only portkey that is allowed through the wards is the Black ring and the ring you used to get here.”

“Do you think it’s necessary?” Ted asked, darting a look at the two other women, both were formidable fighters when pressed, but he wanted his family safe.

“If you’re going to be helping with the court case, I do. Frankly, you’re the only family I have left, and I’d want to keep you safe regardless, but if Dumbledore finds out that we’ve uncovered his corruption, then no one is going to be safe. We could all be branded traitors and sentenced to death just on his word with how much influence he has over the wizarding world right now.”

“But how much of that influence and power is due to his manipulations?” Andromeda asked.

“It’s impossible to say; he could even be another Lockhart, stealing the glory of other wizards and wiping their memories.”

“Lockhart? The one who’s in Saint Mungo’s?” Nymphodora sputtered.

“He tried to wipe Ron and my memories when we dragged him down to the Chamber of Secrets, but Ron’s wand was broken, and the spell misfired. It wiped his memory completely until he couldn’t remember anything short-term. Dumbledore hushed up the matter, and it never went to trial since Lockhart was incompetent at that point.”

“So no one ever heard about all the people’s lives that he destroyed? How horrible,” Andromeda said with a frown.

“Still, it would make a great story,” Ted said, humming to himself.

“Oh, you and your stories,” Andromeda huffed with a fond smile in his direction, “Not everything needs to be a book.”

“Do you write, Mister Tonks?” Harry asked, picking up a tea sandwich to nibble.

“Please call me Ted; I’ve mostly written for my enjoyment, but yes, I’ve had a few pieces published over the years in the muggle world.”

“If I got you the material, would you be willing to write articles or maybe even a book? I’ve been trying to figure out how to get the word out to the wizarding population when the papers are mostly under the thumb of the politicians.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“What about that rag of Lovegood’s, the Quibbler? That’s been printing articles supporting you the last year or so.” Nymphodora pointed out.

“Most people consider the Quibbler a tabloid since it also has articles about extinct or unknown animals along with unproven theories and possible conspiracies. It has a rather limited reach.” Harry said, sighing, “I wouldn’t mind trying to get articles published with them, but I just don’t think it will reach the people we need. I’m debating opening my own paper or publishing house. I’d need writers and articles to publish if I do manage it.”

“I wouldn’t mind giving it a try.” Ted said with a nod, “I can’t help much with the magical side of publishing since it’s more tightly controlled, but I can give you a few books on muggle publishing that might point you in the right direction.”

“I’d appreciate that, Ted,” Harry said, mind churning as he considered possibilities.

“What about the rest of the Order, Harry? Are you going to tell, Lupin?” Nymphodora asked around a bite of cucumber sandwich, her mother silently sighing over her manners.

“I’m going to meet with him after the will reading,” Harry said with a sigh. “He owes a lot to Dumbledore since he’s the only reason he was even able to go to Hogwarts. He ran when my parents were attacked and didn’t bother trying to find or check up on me until my second year at Hogwarts, twelve years after I was orphaned.”

“Some people cannot cope with grief, Harry,” Andromeda said softly.

“Sirius was my godfather, and with him in jail, the duty should have fallen to Remus. He ignored that duty. He worked with me in private for weeks during my second year when I was learning the patronus spell, but he never said a word about knowing my parents. Werewolves are supposed to be very pack and family-oriented, but he’s turned his back over and over again on the people he should consider pack. I won’t trust him with everything until I’m sure he won’t go running right back to Dumbledore.”

“It’s your decision, Harry.” Nymphodora said earnestly, “Just don’t write him off as useless. He’s had too many people abandon him as well. Dumbledore only seems to pull him out of the cupboard when he needs help with the werewolf community, beyond that, he’s ignored.”

“Dumbledore seems to do that to a lot of people.” Harry sighed, “He only needs those in the Aurors when there’s an arrest to be made or he wants you to watch someone. He only needs the Weasleys to keep me in the dark. He only needs his Hero to wander around clueless until Voldemort kills him so the wizard with the most titles on the planet can sweep in to save the day.”

“Won’t he be surprised then when you yank off his blinders?” Nymphodora said, grinning widely, “How can I help, Harry? I’ve taken a leave of absence from both the order and the Aurors until my Occlumency shields are up to snuff.”

“You still have bonds binding you to the order, your vows. I’d like to break those, but I’m pretty sure that Dumbledore will know you’ve been released if he doesn’t think you died.”

“You’ve found a way to break vows?” Andromeda asked, jolting slightly, “That is supposed to be impossible without the death of the bond-holder.”

“And bonds of any kind,” Harry said, giving her a small, tired smile, “It even works on Dark Marks, though it takes a massive amount of power to do so.”

“So you’re the reason I got a note asking if I could keep an eye out for Snivillus.” Nymphodora said with a laugh, “You stole Dumbledore’s spy!”

“The Slytherin table is going to be rather empty when school starts back. Snape is determined to remove as many students as he can. Most are going to have to run from their families." he said, fiddling with his cup.

“Anyone else we know?”

“The Weasley twins are on our side and went through a magical purging. I got a letter this morning with the news. I’m going to get them and you a letterbox so that we can send secure messages back and forth as needed.”

“You won’t be staying here as well?”

“No, I’m staying at Potter Manor. It’s sealed to anyone not of the Potter bloodline right now, so only I can get in. There are portraits of my grandparents, and they’ve been helping me catch up on pureblood history and manners.”

“I can help you with that as well,” Andromeda said, sipping her tea. “Though I will say so far, I can’t fault you on anything.”

“How far along is your Occlumency?” Nymphodora asked, giving him a knowing look, “I never pushed myself studying it, but I intend to make up for that.”

“I don’t have anyone to test my shields yet, but I’ve been practicing for two hours a night,” Harry said with a shrug.

“Well, it must be taking for you to be so calm discussing all of this. I’m afraid I never learned how to read, just block. I was only allowed to study it because of being in the Aurors.”

“Snape can do both and taught me last year if you could call it teaching. Now that I’ve read up on the theory, I’m starting to wonder if Dumbledore didn’t want my natural shields in shreds so I would have visions from Voldemort.”

“Didn’t he give you the books? I remember at a meeting, Snape gave Dumbledore a couple for you to study.”

“I wasn’t given any books.” Harry said, shaking his head in exasperation, “Hermione and I searched the entire library trying to find something about it, and there wasn’t anything, not even in the restricted section. What do you bet Dumbledore removed the books just in case we looked for them?”

“So he wants you weak and plagued by headaches and visions. The papers called you insane all last year. Your acting exhausted in lessons probably just reinforced the image that you were becoming unstable.”

“Yeah, now I just have to decide just how far I can push back without him trying to do something drastic to rein me in,” Harry said, sighing.

“You could always play up the grieving student.” Harry stuck out his tongue at her, getting a scone tossed at his head in retaliation, “No, hear me out. You start being more serious about your studies, keep to yourself more, and act a bit depressed. It gives you time to work on things without others being around, and everyone who might suspect something knows that you lost Sirius, it’s perfect.”

“I wanted to change some of my classes around but thought it would be too strange for me suddenly to start caring about my grades.” Harry said with a sigh, “I got too used to playing mediocre in school with the Dursleys.”

“What did you want to change?”

“I want to drop Divination and start Ancient Runes. Arithmancy sounds as bad as Divination, so I was thinking about trying Alchemy if they’re offering it this year.”

“I doubt they’re going to offer Alchemy. It takes at least ten students requesting it before they even try to find a teacher for the year, and last time, it was Dumbledore teaching it. It hasn’t been taught in years that I can remember. I’d write McGonagall and ask to switch to Ancient Runes and leave Alchemy out; it gives you more time for free study.”

“True.” Harry agreed, making a mental note to do so.

“What studies have you been working on this summer, Harry?” Andromeda asked, smiling as Harry launched into his schedule with a grin. How anyone could think the boy was a stupid tool was beyond her.

“Let us have a few days to settle things at home, and then we’ll move in, but I won’t accept the house. We’ll lease it from you.” Andromeda said firmly, gathering up her cloak as they got ready to head home.

“Really, Andromeda, between the Potters and the Blacks, I have more properties than I could ever use. Consider it a loan, you and your family are welcome to stay here whenever you like.” Harry said firmly.

“You’re just like Sirius; he never knew when to accept something," she said with a sigh, giving him a quick hug. “Very well, I’ll send any news through Gold Kris until the letter box is delivered. Be careful, Harry.”

“You as well, Madam Tonks," he said, “All of you be safe.”

“Be careful, Cuz. No doing anything I wouldn’t do.” Nymphodora said, giving him a clumsy hug and tripping over her own feet as she turned away. The healers thought the blocks might have been causing some of her issues with her limbs by blocking her abilities; they hoped she would slowly improve now that they’d been removed.

“Bye, Tonks,” Harry said, waving as they disappeared into the fire.

Harry instructed the house elves to continue getting the house ready for the Tonks before heading to Potter Manor. He studied for a few more hours before sending Hedwig off with his letter for Professor McGonagall. He could only hope he’d struck the right tone and she wouldn’t go running to Dumbledore with his request.

******

Hermione set the last letter from Ron to the side with an unhappy sigh. Lately, it seemed that every letter she got from the boy was full of rants blaming Harry for everything from his bad grades to how overbearing his mother was. She’d stopped trying to argue with him when she got a howler back in response from his mother, saying she needed to stop upsetting her son.

Harry hadn’t replied to any of their letters, and she was starting to worry that he’d taken his godfather’s death very badly. Her parents gave her some pamphlets to send, but she was sure it would only make things worse to rub it in his face that he was depressed. She stared at the blank parchment before her but couldn’t think of anything to say beyond a random babble about the trip they’d just returned from, which would be the last thing he’d want to hear since he was stuck at the Dursley’s with no end in sight.

Ron said that Grimmauld Place was unavailable for some reason, so she’d only be able to visit if she came to the Burrow, which wasn’t as safe as the old pureblood house. Her parents were urging her to stay home until she had to catch the train. It seemed like she had nothing in common with them anymore since they were not willing to learn even the basics about magic, leaving her with little to talk about around them.

Harry,

I hope you are doing okay. Everything seems to be wrong lately. Ron has been utterly irrational in his letters, and his mother even sent me a howler when I tried to argue with him. He’s saying horrible things about you right now, and I can’t make him see how hurtful it is.

Please send me a reply; I’m worried about you all alone at the Dursleys this summer. I know they treat you awful, and that’s the last thing you need right now with everything. I’m here if you need me. You have my phone number if you want to talk, please call if you can.

The papers have been absent of any news, but Ron’s said there have been attacks. It sounds like they are blocking any news of Him again. I don’t understand it, why are wizards so willing to ignore anything that might upset the status quo?

Mum wants to go to the Alley the week before we go back. If you want us to pick you up to go along, we could. Please let me know. I’ve included your birthday present with the letter. I’m sorry it’s a day early, but since Hedwig turned up, I figured I would send it on.

Yours,

Hermione

********

Harry stayed up the night before his birthday in the library with his grandparents. The elves made an impressive chocolate cake that he insisted they share with him since he would never be able to eat it all. Even Mathis had tears in his eyes as Harry savored his slice of cake. The house elves gathered his birthday letters and presents, but Hedwig insisted on delivering her bundle herself.

“Thank you, Hedwig," he said, petting her before he untied the package and letter she was carrying.

“Who did you go visit?” he asked absently as he got her settled on a perch next to where he was seated in front of the fire.

“Your familiar is a very smart owl. Have you had her since the first year?” Dorea asked from the painting above the fireplace.

“Yes, she was my first real birthday present. Hagrid got her for me when he took me to Diagon Alley the first time.” Harry agreed with a hum, perusing his mail.

“The Hogwarts groundskeeper was the one who took you for your supplies?” Charlus asked in surprise, “You weren’t introduced by a teacher? They should have made sure you were given the standard books and pamphlets for muggle-raised children. I take it he didn’t?”

“No, I was taken to Gringotts and then shopping. Hagrid didn’t bother to explain much; I didn’t even know how to use the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4ths. When I got there, however, the Weasleys were loudly complaining about muggles, and they showed me.”

“Intentionally to get me to meet and make friends with Ron, probably,” Harry said, setting his plate to the side only to have an elf pop in and collect it, leaving behind a tray of milk, biscuits, and fruit. “Hagrid had nothing but bad things to say about the dark, Slytherin, and most of the Houses outside of Gryffindor. Dumbledore wanted me primed to reject the advances of Malfoy, and it all but ensured that I was placed in Gryffindor.”

“Was that in doubt?”

“The sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but I argued with it until it placed me in Gryffindor.”

“Enough talk, gentleman.” Dorea chided them gently, “Let the birthday boy open his gifts.”

“Of course, forgive me, Harry,” Charlus said, tendering a short bow to his descendant.

“It’s fine. It just goes to show that from the second I arrived in the wizarding, the different factions were already trying to manipulate me. Draco was probably sent by his father to woo the Boy Who Lived, but I’d already met him in Diagon Alley, and he insulted Hagrid, who was the first person who’d ever treated me nicely. Then, on the train, Ron immediately insulted him and almost started a fight.”

“Those two families have a blood feud that’s been going on for centuries. They would have fought no matter where they were.” Charlus murmured.

“I entered the wizarding world pushed firmly to the side of the light without ever really understanding why or that there were even really sides at all.” Harry huffed, pulling out his wand and starting to cast detection spells over his gifts, the ones from the Order members lighting up with spells.

Harry tugged the unspelled letters and packages to himself and started opening everything. Hermione’s letter and gift surprised him, she’d sent cut-out articles from the Prophet about several disappearances, including Mr. Ollivander and the owner of the ice cream shop, Mr. Fortescue. He might need to urge the twins to make a decision soon if the Death Eaters were openly attacking the shop owners. Her gift was a book on French spells that she’d picked up on her trip with her parents.

Hagrid sent him a packet of homemade owl treats that Hedwig was eyeing dubiously, along with a note reminding him to visit him for tea once he got settled into classes. Remus had sent a short note simply saying happy birthday along with a book on defense. Harry eyed the note with a sigh. He could understand the man grieving having lost his just recently returned friend, but he didn’t seem to realize that he was pushing Harry further away in the process.

He spelled off the wrapping paper from the spelled gifts and started to open the accompanying cards. Molly Weasley sent potion-laced cupcakes and a note saying they wouldn’t be able to pick him up this year until the last week of the summer. Hermione would also be joining them at the Burrow that week, it seemed. He’d have to pack the extra potions-detecting bracelets and see if he could pack some stasis-spelled meals in his trunk; he had no intention of eating anything the Weasley matriarch cooked.

Ginny sent him a bottle of perfume that was laced with several love and lust potions. He handed all the tainted gifts to an elf and asked that they be added to the trunk of spelled and potioned items. You would think Ginny would take the hint that he didn’t like her that way, considering they’d barely said four words to each other without her blushing like an idiot since she started Hogwarts. Maybe he could suggest that Hermione head to Gringotts early so she could meet with Gold Kris, it sounded from her letter that she wasn’t following along blindly with the rest of the Weasleys.

Dumbledore at least had not sent anything; instead, there was a letter from Professor McGonagall informing him that his classes had been changed and he would need to pick up the required books. He would be expected to take a test on the first day of classes to see where he needed to be placed, in the third year or with his classmates in sixth year. Harry was fine with that and set the letter aside so that he could send his reply in the morning.

“Happy sixteenth birthday, Harry!” Dorea cheered, smiling as the clock chimed midnight; Charlus echoed the congratulation with a grin.

“Thank you, Grandmother and Grandfather,” Harry murmured, fighting back tears, this was the first birthday anyone had bothered to ask what he wanted to do, much less join in on his birthday night tradition.

“One more year of the charade, Harry, and then you can show everyone just how wrong they’ve been.”

“I hope so, Grandfather. A year is a long time to play the sheep while the wolves are watching your every move.” Harry said, considering all the tasks he’d listed out that needed to be done once he was back at Hogwarts.

“Keep yourself focused and working towards your goals; you will make it.” Dorea said, giving him a firm nod, “You’ve done everything you could to prepare yourself and honor your House. Now, you just have to take the first step. What do you have left to work on?”

“I still haven’t managed to find what my Animagus form is, and I’m not making any progress on changing anything so far.”

“It takes time; from the description, you have a rare form. Perhaps you should start looking into legendary animals, ones that are believed to be mythical or extinct.”

“Anything would be better than nothing right now. I’ve looked through every book I can find in the library here, and nothing matches. A wolf with wings and scales is not exactly a common animal.”

“You’ll find it; use the Hogwarts library when you start classes. They’re sure to have a few books that the Potter collection is missing.”

“If the Headmaster hasn’t removed them,” Harry agreed, rolling his eyes.

“Enough moping,” Dorea said firmly, “Have some milk and tell me how Potion Master Snape and the Weasley twins are doing?”

“The elves say that Snape has settled in well and is already brewing. I’m going to meet with him this weekend as Lord Thorburn. The twins want to visit to discuss things, and Gold Kris will be giving them a portkey so they can spend a few days at one of the properties before they decide when they want to move in.”

“What property were you considering?” Dorea asked, sipping at a painted cup of tea.

“I was thinking of the smaller vacation cottage we have on the coast. It has a large potions lab they could use for experimenting and producing their products if they continue the mail order business.”

“Is their business going well?” Charlus pressed, a Lord needed to know how his investments were progressing.

“Very well before the latest attacks, business has been dropping since people are avoiding the Alley after the recent disappearances.” Harry said, frowning, remembering the paperwork he’d put through for his donation to the twins, “They’re great inventors; I’m hoping a few hints will get them working on something that would help the war effort. There was one more thing I wanted to ask you both about: do you know anything about a Regulus Black? His name isn’t on the family tapestry.”

“Regulus was the prodigal son of the Black family and Sirius’ younger brother. Sirius rejected the dark while Regulus embraced it.” Charlus said with a frown. “He essentially became the new Black Heir when Sirius ran away. Why do you ask?”

“The locket Kreacher asked me to destroy contained a note from RAB, Regulus A. Black. He stole the locket from somewhere while he was serving Voldemort. He gave it to Kreacher to destroy when he wasn’t able to, then he was killed sometime soon after, according to the elf.” Harry said, watching the paintings pale in shock. “It was something that Voldemort would have wanted to be kept safe, however, and the dummy locket Regulus left behind is still out there somewhere. I have Kreacher searching the few things left from Regulus, but there isn’t anything yet to point to its location.”

“Do you need to find the hiding place?” Dorea asked, “The fake locket can stay there.”

“There might be other artifacts or things that Voldemort wanted to stay hidden there. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s something to think about. If I don’t find the location, then it won’t matter, but it could help.”

“Until you have something to point towards a location, I wouldn’t worry about it, focus on your studies and projects. If something turns up, you can deal with it then.”

“True,” Harry agreed, turning back to the stack of presents that were still arriving from all over the world.

He had no idea why people were still sending birthday presents to someone who hadn’t even done what they celebrated him for. Voldemort was out there gaining power, and people were mailing him gifts for bringing him down as an infant. He unwrapped the next box with a swish of his wand and set the box of chocolate in the growing pile to one side, at this rate, he’d never have to buy anything from Honey Dukes ever again.

*****

“Harry, good to see you, mate,” Fred said, grinning while George wolf-whistled at the blushing young man; the portkey dropped them into a tastefully done sitting room with Harry waiting next to a white marble fireplace.

“Nice clothes, Harry. Good to see that you can clean up when you want to. I hate to say it, but Ginny and half of Hogwarts are going to be chasing after you next year.” George said with a wicked grin.

“Don’t say that.” Harry said with a groan, “You haven’t had to read the drivel she’s been sending me all summer. She all but called herself Mrs. Potter in one; I don’t know what I’m going to have to do to get her to back off.”

“Sorry, mate. Don’t think we can help with that.” Fred said with a grimace, “How are you holding up with all this? I can’t believe our family was stealing your money.”

“Frankly, I just want to see how they react in a few weeks when they realize they can’t access the money anymore. The keys were all recalled, and I’ve removed access from everyone not of Potter blood.” Harry said, gesturing for them to follow.

“I keep hoping it’s just Dumbledore, but Mum has always wanted us to better our station. The Prewitt’s were a pureblood house and had a bit higher standards than the Weasley’s.” Fred said.

“Yeah, she’s been filling Ginny’s head since she was a child with stories of ‘the Boy Who Lived’ and how you both would be in Hogwarts together. I think she expects Dumbledore to draw up a contract between the families eventually.” George agreed.

“I already have my lawyers scouring the Ministry registries. So far, they haven’t turned anything up, but that could just mean that Dumbledore never bothered to have the contract registered.” Harry shrugged.

“Would that matter?” Fred asked.

“Technically, it’s not legal if the contract hasn’t been registered, but I wouldn’t put it past Dumbledore to assume I don’t know that fact and try to push me into a marriage. If I took the matter to court, it could take years to get the contract broken, during which time I’d have to provide for Ginny as if she was my wife, even if we never got married.”

“Hope it doesn’t come to that,” Fred said, frowning.

“Can you imagine how bad she would be? Buying everything in sight because the ‘Wife of The Boy Who Lived’ deserves it. Ugh.” George put in, making a face.

“Exactly what I’m trying to prevent,” Harry agreed with a sigh, “It would be a media nightmare and the fact that I’ve never even looked at her as anything more than a sister would be ignored since what full-blooded male wouldn’t want her?” he said snorting.

“So, have you thought about anyone else?” George asked.

“Frankly, between Dumbledore and Voldemort, I think I have my hands full without adding a relationship to the mix. Maybe once I get out of school, but for now, I’m just too damn busy to even think about it.” Harry said tiredly.

“Fair enough,” George said, holding up his hands in surrender, “We were just wondering. If you were, then we could toss it to Ginny and Mum to get them to back off.”

“I’m kind of afraid it would just make them worse since it would be competition,” Harry muttered.

“Yeah,” Fred agreed in disgust, “Never thought I would dislike my own family so much.”

“Have you heard anything from Bill or Charlie?” Harry asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“We sent them both letters saying we wanted to meet up and talk to them about something important but didn’t trust them to not say something to Mum or Dad in their next letter.”

“What about Arthur? Do you think you could get him into the bank to be scanned?”

“Maybe if we can get Bill to go at the same time,” George said, shrugging, “Technically, he’s the Weasley heir and could declare Dad incompetent or force him to be scanned if it came to that.”

“Heck, technically, we’re the Prewitt heirs. If we wanted to break with the family, we could claim the title and seats.” Fred pointed out with a frown.

“How are you both the heirs? Doesn’t that normally just go to the eldest?” Harry asked.

“Not for the Prewitt family, if there are any twins in the family, then it goes immediately to them skipping over the other family members. Mother’s two twin brothers were the last Heads, but they died in the war, and it fell to her Uncle since the family charter won’t allow a woman to be the family heir.”

“So the Prewitt’s always have male twins?”

“One set in every generation since the family was founded.” George agreed. “We’re waiting to see if Bill takes that step or not. If he does, we can claim our titles with no issues since Uncle Prewitt’s been in bad health for years. If not, we might have to declare ourselves Prewitt’s and abandon the Weasley name and magic.”

“It would put us outside the family, which would mean they’d have no control over our actions even if the Head of House ordered us to toe the line,” George said with a nod.

“Does that happen?”

“Dad’s never done it that I’ve seen, but a few of our year-mates at school mentioned it. The House magic forces you to obey, no matter how much you don’t want to. I thought Mum was going to force him to when we left school, but he said as long as we had paying jobs, he would support us as members of the House.”

“I didn’t realize the Head of House had that much power over the rest of the family,” Harry said, frowning, he couldn’t picture himself doing the same to anyone in his family.

“Most families never use it; the only ones I’ve heard of are when a member utterly disgraces the family, or there’s a big scandal. One of the Prefects told us that his younger brother had been removed from school for unbecoming behavior after he attacked a girl. His father set the House magic on him to control his behavior. He said it was like watching a muggle machine just going through the motions until his brother started giving in.”

“What do you want to bet that Lucius Malfoy uses it all the time?” Harry asked softly, glancing at the others.

“Oh, that would be bad. It’s supposed to hurt like hell if you fight it. You can even lose your magic if you don’t give in.” Fred said, shuddering.

“So, if you grew up with someone using House magic to control your every action?” Harry pressed, needing to make sure.

“You’d do everything you could to act and sound like you’re toeing the line to the extreme, just like how Draco acts,” Fred said, wincing.

“Damn, now you’ve got me feeling sorry for the brat.” George agreed, looking nauseous.

“Okay, let me show you the rest of the house. You can either stay here or where the rest of the students will be staying.”

Harry gave them a quick tour of the house, showing them the small potions ingredient garden, two connecting bedrooms, kitchen, library, potions lab, and the storage vaults below the house where he’d moved a selection of ingredients for them to work with.